


I Should Go

by goddamnitkastlewrites



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, In which I unabashedly ripped off TVD, also the first of what would become many Kastle fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 11:37:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11184312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goddamnitkastlewrites/pseuds/goddamnitkastlewrites
Summary: First posted to goddamnitkastle.tumblr.com on June 12, 2016. Also my first Kastle fic :)The original summary is below:"Well I’m definitely in too deep. Anyway, this was inspired by Damon and Elena’s scene in the Season 2 finale of The Vampire Diaries. Also listen to I Should Go by Levi Kreis while reading this because FEELS. So enjoy, I haven’t written fan fiction since high school so be kind."





	I Should Go

‘This is even more pitiful than I thought.’

Frank’s breath was ragged and he was burning up. Karen’s back was against the headboard and she was cradling his head against her chest. The towel in her hand was soaked, rendering it useless. It had been a fairly quiet day for her until a frantic knock broke the serenity. Matt hobbled Frank’s body into her apartment, there was an ‘incident’ with The Hand and Frank met with the wrong end of a poisoned sword. Matt left quickly, said something about going to get Claire for help. And so Karen was left alone to care for Frank, who was rather lucid for a man who had a giant gash across his stomach. That changed painfully as the effects began to take hold.

‘There’s still hope.’ Karen offered weakly, not looking at him. She did all she could to make him comfortable but she couldn’t hide her anxiety. Matt hadn’t returned yet. Her thoughts had turned for the worst in the last few minutes, she concluded that Matt had orchestrated this as a way to take down the Punisher for good. She knew it was irrational but as Frank continued to bleed through the makeshift dressings composed of Karen’s t-shirts, the growing panic in her chest couldn’t be ignored.

‘I’ve made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die.’ Frank slurred. This was the most he had spoken in the last hour. There were occasional fits of verbiage but it was mumbled and Karen couldn’t make anything out. She turned to look at Frank, his forehead was drenched and his eyes were half shut.

‘No you don’t.’ Karen adjusted her position, she propped herself on her elbow so that she was eye level with Frank. His eyes focused as she came into view.

‘I do, Karen. It’s okay.’ Karen’s eyes moved down to his hand, bruised as usual but his trigger finger was not twitching. She clasped it not for his own sake but to prepare herself. She felt it in her gut, Frank was going to die in her bed and she was going to bear witness. She figured she would hear him profess his undying love for Maria, Lisa, and Frank Jr. Maybe repent for all the murders he committed. Either way, she took a breath and waited.

‘Because if I’d chosen differently I wouldn’t have met you.’ Oh. Well okay. This made her look up at him, his eyes were open and despite their cloudy gaze they were fixated on her. These were not the eyes of a man seeking to absolve himself of guilt or sin. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but he was looking at her in a way that made her hold onto that breath she took.

‘I’m so sorry, I’ve done so many things to hurt you.’ he continued.

‘It’s okay, I forgive you.’ she replied quickly. Okay so maybe he was looking for absolution but she had forgiven him a long time ago. For the diner. The woods. It was the past, it had been for a while.

‘I know you love Murdock and it will always be Murdock.’ Karen closed her eyes, the swirl she had told Frank about hadn’t changed. If anything the swirl turned into a black hole, all the ingredients sat in the abyss causing her sleepless nights. On those nights she would find herself on her laptop, starting a letter she could not finish. But he was dying; this was not the time to confess. There would never be a time for them. Regardless she couldn’t help herself as she cradled her body against his. She gripped his hand tighter, trying to not cry. Frank didn’t resist (not that he could exactly) but she felt his head move so that his lips were lightly pressed on her forehead.

‘But I love you. You should know that.’ he whispered against her skin. Any defense Karen had up until that point shattered completely. A couple tears fell, she didn’t allow herself to believe that Frank would ever confess feelings of love to her. Not since the night she spotted him on the roof. But as the memories of their time together came flooding back it was all there. He made himself known with every look and Karen knew all along. It had been so long though and without a word Karen wondered if she had imagined Frank Castle. Imagined a man capable of striking terror into a city of millions but also had a family once. A man that joined the Marine Corps after high school, scrappy and hungry despite never holding a gun. A man who used his own body to shield her from a hailstorm of bullets. His admission dispelled all her doubts.

‘I do.’ she said at last. They were finally exposed and that brought an odd sense of peace between them. She even felt him form a small smile.

‘You should’ve met me when I was eighteen, you would’ve liked me.’ She lifted her head up, Frank’s eyes were shut and his skin had become a more squeamish gray than prior.

‘I like you now, just the way you are.’ Frank didn’t respond physically or vocally. Karen leaned slowly toward Frank and pressed her lips against his. She didn’t know if he would even register it but all sense of reason was gone and this hour held more meaning than it ever could.

As she pulled away, a shallow breath escaped his lips. ‘Thank you ma’am.’

‘You’re welcome.’ She smiled and Frank let out a tiny chuckle. And just like that she was back at the diner with him.

‘Well it’s me who you should be thanking.’ Claire quipped. Karen shot up from the bed to find her and Matt standing in the doorway of her bedroom. She didn’t respond as she peeled herself off of Frank and stepped aside. Matt stayed back, looking sullen. Claire got to work and Karen excused herself to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. Frank consumed her thoughts. She covered her mouth, trading the smell of Frank’s skin for the tiles.


End file.
